amillikan | February 3, 2009As the field of genetics sheds its sci-fi image and gains approval in the public eye, the possibilities unravel for mainstream commercial use. But some worry that if couples can use In-Vitro Fertilization to screen for disease during pre-implantation procedures, they could use it to select desired physical characteristics like eye color and gender as well, as dozens of couples from Australia have been traveling to the U.S. to do. But ScienceBlogger Daniel MacArthur from Genetic Future doesn't anticipate that this recent trend will catch on, and discusses why he thinks there won't be a large…
ksharpe | February 3, 2009Review by John Wilkins, from Evolving Thoughts
Originally published on February 3, 2009, at 11:38 AM
"Freaks of Nature: What Anomalies Tell Us About Development and Evolution" (Mark S. Blumberg)
This book came to me well recommended, and as far as the content goes, I am very impressed. The writing style, however, and the intended audience, are at odds with each other.
Blumberg is a developmental biologist who has a real grasp of the topic, is enthusiastic about it, and has a clear target in his sights. That target is sometimes misleadingly called "The Modern Synthesis", although a better…
amillikan | February 2, 2009It's become something of a tradition here at ScienceBlogs to write series of posts that are published on Fridays. For example, Janet from Adventures in Ethics and Science writes Friday Sprog Blogging, a tribute to her inquisitive offspring, and Abel from Terra Sigillata has been known to author a Friday Fermentable series about his explorations into fine wine—he even brought the column to life during ScienceOnline'09. So we here at Seed thought it time to pay tribute to the efforts of these dedicated bloggers, as we too salute this glorious day.
amillikan | January 31, 2009In this week's episode of Science Saturday, John Horgan chats with philosopher Denis Dutton about his book, "The Art Instinct," which argues that our artistic values are due, in significant part, to biological adaptations dating back to the Pleistocene.
Next, John and Denis discuss sex and creativity, why there is no art of smell, and the appeal for highly abstract art.
amillikan | January 29, 2009ScienceBloggers are up in arms about the cover article of New Scientist which boldly proclaims "Darwin was Wrong." The article, authored by Graham Lawton, explains that occurrences such as horizontal gene transfer and hybridization transform the shape of Darwin's famous tree into something more like a thicket with criss-crossing branches. But some argue that new information in genetics doesn't render Darwin's model obsolete, and, moreover, that the headline is misleading and could be used as a tool for Creationists. "Very few readers will read your article. But everyone will see the cover,"…
amillikan | January 29, 2009The potential for various geo-engineering proposals to offset the effects of climate change is often not factored in to near- and long-term climate scenarios. In a study conducted by NOAA, released this week, the authors predicted "irreversible changes," but noted, "we do not consider geo-engineering measures that might be able to remove gases already in the atmosphere or to introduce active cooling to counteract warming." Days later, one of the first in-depth analyses of these measures was published, considering both the feasibility and potential payoffs of several geo-engineering schemes.…
amillikan | January 29, 2009A notorious bacterial foe has made its first documented appearance in the U.S. and is jumping species around the farm scene. First, MSRA—methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus— was found in chickens. Just recently, research conducted by ScienceBlogger Tara Smith from Aetiology found that ST398, a strain found in pigs, was also found in many of the humans who came into contact with the pigs at a large food production farm in Iowa. While this strain seems to spread readily between animals and humans, its potential for lethal infections is still unclear.
Related ScienceBlogs Posts:
Swine…
ksharpe | January 27, 2009Review by Maria Brumm, from Green Gabbro
Originally posted on January 23, 2009, 5:29 AM
Since today is National Pie Day, I thought I would list a few of my favorite cookbooks. In particular, the ones that have taught me to bake pie. The ones with science.
My staple meringue pie recipe comes from The New Best Recipe. The Meyer lemon meringue pie I made from this recipe for Thanksgiving several years ago is what kicked off my love affair with meringue pies, and with meringue in general. But before I can tell you about this cookbook, I need to tell you about seismology.
Seismologists set up…
amillikan | January 27, 2009ScienceBlogger Chris Mooney appeared on The Colbert report yesterday to discuss the Bush Administration's 'war on science.' According to Chris, the scientists won the war on science when President Obama was elected.
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The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Obama's New Science Policy - Chris Mooney
Colbert at ChristmasColbert Christmas DVD
Green ScreenBill O'Reilly Interview
"The Bush Administration was systematically undermining scientific knowledge on a lot of different issues that have a lot of different policy implications," Mooney said in the interview.
Colbert,…
amillikan | January 26, 2009
Last Thursday, I entered The Research Triangle for the ScienceOnline09 conference. It was a place of both shadow and substance, both things and ideas. It was a place where the cryptic elements of the blogosphere manifested in three dimensions; personalities known only through pixelated text subject to the imagination took on faces and voices that would forever alter my perception of the messages flashing next to the user names I encounter every day as an administrator of ScienceBlogs. But unlike The Bermuda Triangle where people are rumored to disappear due to the activities of paranormal…
ksharpe | January 26, 2009Review by David Dobbs, from Neuron Culture
Originally posted on: January 25, 2009 10:45 PM
The book opens so thrillingly -- a plane crash, a last-second Super Bowl victory, and a first chapter that comfortably reconciles Plato and Ovid with Tom Brady and John Madden -- that it spawns a worry: Can the book possibly sustain this pace?
"How We Decide" delivers. Jonah Lehrer, -- author of "Proust Was a Neuroscientist," blogger at Frontal Cortex, and (full disclosure) an online acquaintance and sometime colleague of mine for a couple years now (I asked him to take over editorship of Scientific…
ksharpe | January 25, 2009Review by Chad Orzel, from Uncertain Principles
Originally posted on: January 25, 2009, 4:18 PM
Michael Brooks's 13 Things That Don't Make Sense turned up on a lot of "Best science books of 2008" lists, and the concept of a book about scientific anomalies seemed interesting, so I ordered it from Amazon. It's a quick read (a mere 210 pages, and breezily written), but ultimately a frustrating book.
It took me several chapters to pin down what bugged me about the book, but it all became clear when I looked at the back cover flap, and saw that the author is a former editor of New Scientist. The…
amillikan | January 24, 2009
Monday, January 26, ScienceBlogger Chris Mooney will be a guest on The Colbert Report, hosted by the one and only Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central. Mooney and Colbert will discuss Bush's "war on science" and how the Obama administration can change the scientific climate in America.
Mooney is a contributor to The Intersection where he blogs with Sheril Kirshenbaum. Together, the two have co-authored a book titled "Unscientific America: How Science Illiteracy Threatens Our Future." The book hasn't been released yet, but you just can't get enough of Chris Mooney, you can pre-order the book…
amillikan | January 24, 2009In his inaugural address January 20, President Obama made a promise to America to "restore science to its rightful place." At Seed Media Group, we are firmly committed to President Obama's vision and will work to make it a reality. To this end, we have launched a new initiative we're calling The Rightful Place Project, to invite a national discussion around the President's idea of a "rightful place" for science. Come join in.
amillikan | January 22, 2009President Obama's inaugural address yesterday was met with enthusiasm by ScienceBloggers, who were particularly pleased by his promise to "restore science to its rightful place." But it was the inclusion of "non-believers" among the nation's religions that prompted the most discussion.William Connolley of Stoat called it "a token nod" in the midst of a mostly religious ceremony, while PZ Myers of Pharyngula thought it to be "a small thing, but appreciated."
ksharpe | January 22, 2009Review by Scicurious, from Neurotopia
Originally posted on: January 19, 2009 1:27 AM
It is rare that a non-fiction book, let alone a non-fiction book about science, makes me laugh so hard I have to put the book down until I can get off the floor. In fact, I would say it's only happened once. That once was during this last week, when I finally got to read "Bonk: the Curious Coupling of Science and Sex" by Mary Roach.
I don't know why I never read the book before. You'd think as the lover of all things Weird Science, Sci would be all over this thing. Me, I blame grad student poverty.
So…
ksharpe | January 22, 2009Review by John Lynch, from Stranger Fruit
Originally posted on: January 16, 2009 12:56 PM
It is always cute when the anti-evolutionists (in all their guises) try to do history; witness here, for example. Veteran observers are not surprised to find them trying to warp history (see here, here, here & here for that). Nowhere is this warping more evident than in how DI-hacks such as John West & Richard Weikart have promulgated a meme linking Darwin to Haeckel to Nazism. This has been clearly dealt with by a number of historians (see references herein and read Robert Richards' latest book…
amillikan | January 19, 2009In this week's Science Saturday, science writers Chris Mooney and Carl Zimmer look ahead at the scientific controversies and discoveries of the coming year. Will Craig Venter finally produce artificial life in 2009? Will NASA find proof of Martian life? Will the public become even less informed about science? And perhaps most importantly, will Obama's science policy improve on Bush's?
amillikan | January 17, 2009Today kicks off the first day of events of the third annual ScienceOnline conference in North Carolina. Founded in 2007 by veteran ScienceBlogger, Coturnix from A Blog Around the Clock, ScienceOnline is the first conference devoted to discussing science as its role changes with the expansion of the internet. Several ScienceBloggers have traveled far and wide to attend the conference and participate in the events.
amillikan | January 16, 2009Scientists across the globe have put out a call to help two AIDS researchers being held prisoner in Iran. Accused of forming a "velvet revolution" and charged with "communicating with an enemy government," the researchers were reportedly exchanging scientific information with colleagues—a crucial scientific practice—in order to successfully implement public health measures in Iran to slow the spread of AIDS. Several ScienceBloggers have posted information on how to support these doctors.